Rolls-Royce accused of bribing exec

As well as bringing opportunities for aircraft makers such as Airbus SAS and Boeing Co, new jet sales also boost orders for engines.

The front-runners for those orders are the likes of Rolls-Royce and its US rivals, General Electric Co and Pratt & Whitney.

Speaking last month, Rolls-Royce’s chief executive, John Rishton, said the company would not tolerate “improper business conduct of any sort.”

“This is a company with exceptional prospects and I will not accept any behavior that undermines its future success, “ he said.

The company also announced that it will appoint an “independent senior figure” to review its compliance process and report to the board’s ethics committee.

Rolls-Royce is one of Britain’s blue-chip exporters and thus a key manufacturer in British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s “march of the makers,” posting revenues of ￡11.3 billion (US$18.36 billion) last year and a pre-tax profit of ￡1.2 billion, with its strong future prospects underlined by an order book worth ￡862.2 billion.